Philips sold its first batch of TSMC shares in March, cutting its holding in the Taiwan firm to 12.8% from 16.2%.

One ADS equals five ordinary Taiwan shares. The pricing occurred after the New York markets closed on Thursday and just before markets opened for Friday trading in Taiwan.

TSMC is riding on a cyclical upturn driven by a new crop of computers and consumer products, including mobile phones, game consoles and flat-screen televisions.

TSMC has shown its confidence in the recovery by forecasting an improvement in sales and profit margins in the second quarter. Smaller rival United Microelectronics Corp. echoed the upbeat outlook from TSMC.